Sunday, September 30, 2007

Evan Wolfson, the founder of the modern gay marriage movement, tells the waiter he would like an iced decaf and “the usual.” Wolfson, one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People in the World, is a man who unflinchingly knows what he wants and stays his course, whether it be in his choice of restaurant or in his choice of battle. And others always know when they see Evan coming what it is that he wants.

Since his time at Harvard Law School when he wrote a paper on the topic, what Wolfson wants is the right for gay people to marry. The issue gained national prominence in 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court held in Baehr v. Lewin that the government had to show a reason for the denial of the freedom to marry, not just deny marriage licenses to the plaintiff gay couples. Wolfson was co-counsel in the historic 1996 Hawaii trial in which he argued that the government does not have a sufficient reason for excluding same-sex couples from marriage. In 1999, Wolfson contributed to Baker v. Vermont, the case that led to the creation of civil unions; advised the lead attorneys in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the case that led to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts; and since 2003, when he founded the primary umbrella organization coordinating the efforts to win marriage for gay people, Freedom to Marry, Wolfson has played a role in every marriage equality case in the United States. He is the movement’s founder and leader, and his focus remains square on winning that right. “For years,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, “many of us were saying to him, ‘We’re not ready. The country’s not ready. And, by the way, you’re crazy.'”

When I make a statement to him about his devoting his life to gay marriage, he corrects me: “I’ve played a part in cases that span the entire spectrum of eliminating gay people’s exclusions and limitations on who gay people are, and I’ve also written on immigration and economic justice, and I have worked on cases involving race discrimination in jury selection and women’s inequality. I don’t think one has to pick one of these things; they work together.”

Indeed, he has. Wolfson was lead counsel before the Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the case arguing against the expulsion of gay scoutmasters. As an intrepid young assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, Wolfson worked on People v. Liberta to end the exemption that allowed women to be raped by their husbands legally, a right in New York State as early as 1984. And he helped end the practice of choosing jurors based upon their race.

Wolfson’s entire career has been at the center of the most explosive legal and cultural issues of the last 30 years in the United States, and his influence has been profound. David Shankbone sat down with him to discuss some of the recent decisions affecting gay marriage, gender in marriage and reactions in the gay community to his fight for their rights.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Retired Wikipedian Ryan Jordan, known originally by his pseudonym “Essjay”, put himself up to more scrutiny by suggesting that unethical journalistic practices were used during an interview by Stacy Schiff for The New Yorker magazine.

Essjay made the statement on the user’s Wikipedia page that:

Jordan suggested that Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Schiff, to whom he said that he was a tenured university professor, offered to compensate him for an interview she conducted as research for the magazine article titled “KNOW IT ALL“.

The article, published in the magazine’s July issue last year, was later appended by the editors of the magazine with the disclaimer that, “He was willing to describe his work as a Wikipedia administrator but would not identify himself other than by confirming the biographical details that appeared on his user page. At the time of publication, neither we nor Wikipedia knew Essjay’s real name.”

What is known now, following the quitting of Essjay at Wikipedia, and the resignation at Wikia, is that the individual misrepresented himself.

Blogger and prominent contributor to Wikimedia Foundation projects Andrew Lih contacted Schiff for comment. Her reply was “on the record, succinct and emphatic”:

Wikipedia Signpost writer Michael Snow received a similar response from the Deputy Editor of The New Yorker, Pam McCarthy, stating:

Schiff was referred by the Wikimedia Foundation for an interview for the article to Wikipedia administrator Essjay, a member of Wikipedia’s arbitration committee and generally trusted member of the community.

Lih comments “He has now accused Schiff of unethical conduct, entering into the dangerous domain of defamation and libel and directly affecting the reputation of a working journalist. Is he ready to stand up and be accountable for his story, or will he leave a reckless statement sitting on the Talk page?… Who do we believe — a respected reporter or proven prevaricator Essjay/Ryan Jordan?”

Lih, himself an assistant professor of journalism, suggests Jordan may have tried to “portray himself as a sympathetic character”, not realising that he was suggesting a journalistic wrongdoing.

Before issuing a correction, Schiff’s article about Wikipedia had stated:

Jordan had fabricated a persona which he described on his user page on Wikipedia, presenting himself as a tenured professor at a private US university. After the news broke, EssJay said that the false details were intended to avoid cyberstalking. However, Jordan had used these fictitious credentials to win content debates on Wikipedia. Polls have found that 55% of web users have used fake identities.

When Wikimedia’s Jimmy Wales called for Jordan’s resignation from any position of power, such as his Arbitration Committee placement or administrative privileges, the user decided instead to remove himself from the project completely.

He is no longer an employee of Wikia, Inc., the community wiki company at which he revealed his true identity; corporation co-founder Angela Beesley has told Wikinews that Jordan resigned.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Two car-rigged explosions in Baghdad killed 15 and injured nearly 40 people beside a Shiite Ahl al-Bait mosque Sunday. In Tikrit, 140km northeast of Baghdad, 6 were killed and nearly 26 injured in two suicide bombings. A car bomber drove into police assembled in an academy compound and detonated, then a second car bomber attacked a nearby army liaison office 20 minutes later.

In the Baghdad attack, the bombings took place in the western al-Shoulah district in front of an ice cream shop near the mosque. The first blast was followed within minutes by the second blast after witnesses to the first bomb rushed in to help survivors.

The anti-coalition insurgencies Sunday inflicted its heaviest toll since the national elections held January 30.

The violence, aimed mostly at Iraqi security forces and Shiite strongholds, is partly blamed on the struggling National Assembly’s efforts to gain a consensus in forming a new government. The lack of leadership has led to appointments of police and security officials with no consent from the Interior Ministry, and is against the requirement of the law. The lack of authority diminishes Iraqi efforts to put down and pursue rebel forces.

Ahmed Chalabi, now-exiled, but a one time a seeker the Iraqi Prime Minister position himself and also a provider of US intelligence on weapons programs, said “We need a government immediately. The delay in forming a government has encouraged the terrorists.”

By late Sunday, reports indicate Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari was ready to name a cabinet as early as today or Tuesday, but such hopes have gone unfulfilled in the past. Efforts to include candidates in contentious top cabinet posts with Sunni parliamentarians led by the former PM Iyad Allawi may be abandoned to speed filling the positions.

The dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance took 146 of the 275 seats in parliament, while the main Kurdish bloc took 77. To many, exclusion of the Sunni representatives in posts such as defense or interior minister, or either oil and finance minister, is untenable when they control 40 parliamentary seats.

Other reports Sunday include:

• 30 wounded in car-rigged blast at police station in western Baghdad
• 6 more arrests in last Tuesday’s downing of a Mi-8 helicopter
• 3 insurgents killed when their bomb accidentally exploded south of Baghdad in Mahawil
• 1 US soldier killed, 2 US soldiers and 2 civilians wounded in convoy attack in east Baghdad, several other US convoys were attacked Sunday
• No one hurt in explosion near a US patrol in western Baghdad
• Mishan al-Juburi, leader of the reconciliation and liberation bloc, survived a booby-trapped car bomb
• 1 US sailor killed Saturday and announced today, when the Marine convoy he traveled with was attacked by a roadside bomb near Fallujah

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

An alarm for heavy chemical pollution has been issued in the Lviv region, Ukraine, where yesterday evening a railway disaster led to a fire involving 15 containers of liquid yellow phosphorus.

Extinguishing the fire proved extremely difficult because water cannot be used: in contact with phosphorus, water creates poisonous gas. It took six hours before the flames were extinguished. Gas was generated nonetheless, and at the moment the poisoned area extends about 90 sq. km. The casualties count is already heavy: 20 people are reported injured, 13 of them in critical condition. They have been carried to the Lviv hospital. Podrobnosti reports that the fire started when one of the containers started to leak and the phosphor caught fire.

The poisoned area includes 14 villages. From the five villages that are closer to the disaster area some 800 people have already been evacuated. Half of the evacuees had to manage on their own as there was not enough public transport for all.

At the moment there is no available data about the wind direction or next expected movements of the phosphorus cloud. Special firemen units remain on place to control the possibility of a new fire, while the administration of the Lviv Oblast tries to forecast the possible short- and mid-term evolution of the situation.

The Ukrainian Railways have officially excluded the possibility of a terrorist act as a cause for the disaster.

Podrobnosti reports the deadly dose of yellow phosphor at 0.1 g. According to that source, when poisoning living beings, phosphor causes liver necrosis and attacks the bones and spinal cord.

[edit]

Monday, November 15, 2010

Three pirates were killed late Friday during a presumed attack in error, while other pirates successfully hijacked the Yuan Xiang, a Panamanian-flagged vessel with an all-Chinese crew, and a media embargo was lifted regarding the release of a British couple whose yacht was seized more than a year ago over the weekend.

At 11 p.m. on Friday a Kenyan patrol vessel was near Kilifi in Kenyan coastal waters “when four suspected Somali pirates on board a speed boat climbed the vessel, mistaking it for a merchant vessel,” according to Kenyan Defence Department spokesman Bogita Ongeri. He said three were shot dead but the fourth “dived into the sea with bullet wounds during the scuffle,” and is thought to have died. The speed boat with more pirates on board fled, the three bodies were taken to Coast General Hospital, Mombassa.

Ongeri promised more details after discussions with the vessel’s captain adding, “[t]he government will not relent in its fight against piracy.” Kenya, along with the Seychelles, performs international prosecutions of pirates, but convictions are rarely secured; 26 suspects were freed last week by Kenya owing to lack of evidence or jurisdiction.

Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers’ Assistance Program said Saturday, “I can confirm the pirates hijacked Yuan Xiang on Friday at midnight Kenyan time in the Arabian Sea near India. The vessel has 29 Chinese crew.” The Yuan Xiang was sailing outside the zone covered by a multinational task force combating piracy. Reports suggest its captors are heading to Somalia.

Retired British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were released after their yacht Lynn Rival was captured near the Seychelles en-route to Tanzania 388 days ago, in October 2009. An injunction prevented reporting the release until 56-year-old Rachel and 60-year-old Paul, from Kent, were out of Somalia.

“Men with guns came aboard,” Paul told ITV News over the phone a week after their capture. “Then we were forced to sail … toward Somalia.” The seizure was witnessed by UK refueling ship RFA Wave Knight but they were not helped for fear their lives would be endangered. “This is not piracy and must not be reported as such,” Paul said in custody. “It is kidnapping and extortion and even torture.” It is unclear if money changed hands; US$7 million was originally demanded but UK government policy forbids ransom payments. “We’re fine,” said Paul. “We’re rather skinny and bony but we’re fine.”

New figures show 790 people have been kidnapped by Somali pirates this year, on course to beat last year’s record of 867. Of these, 435 remain hostage. Dr Alex Coutroubis and George Kiourktsoglou of London’s University of Greenwich say crews are repelling more attacks, and attackers have responded with increased violence. “As it gets harder for pirates to capture ships, the Somali gangs are more likely to fire at sailors with automatic weapons in order to force vessels to stop”. Some tankers have had rocket propelled grenades fired at them.

Last year saw 217 hijack attempts. This year, to date, 140, and 40 ships seized – versus 47 for the whole of 2009.

Friday, February 19, 2010

The 2010 BRIT Awards, presented by the British Phonographic Industry, is an annual award ceremony for music artists. This year, the competition took place in the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. The event started taking place in 1980, with this year’s event being the 30th BRIT Awards. This year, the programme was broadcast live – although with a short delay to allow censorship of strong language – on ITV1 from 2000-2200 GMT on Tuesday. 5.8 million viewers watched it, which was an audience share of 21.9%.

The main presenter of the programme was British comedian Peter Kay, although various other celebrities also presented awards, including actor Andy Serkis, musician Melanie Brown, singer Shirley Bassey, television and radio presenter Jonathan Ross, actor Idris Elba, singer Geri Halliwell, television presenter Cat Deeley, comedian Alan Carr, singer Mika, fashion designer and film director Tom Ford, former glamour model Samantha Fox, musician Noddy Holder and musician and actress Courtney Love. Fearne Cotton was also a backstage presenter during the event. There was also an after show highlights programme broadcast on ITV2, immediately after the programme on ITV1 had finished, from 2200-2300 GMT. Presenting on the programme was Rufus Hound and Caroline Flack. BBC Radio 1 also had continuous official coverage on the station throughout the day of the awards, with disc jockeys Scott Mills and Greg James hosting a programme on the station at around the time of the award ceremony.

Various artists, all of which were BRIT Award nominees, performed during the ITV1 programme. Lily Allen, JLS and Kasabian were amongst the performers. American musician Lady Gaga said that “[t]his is for Alexander McQueen“, who died on February 11, 2010, before performing two of her tracks – Telephone and Dance in the Dark. Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine performed a duet entitled You’ve Got the Dirtee Love, which was a merger of two songs – You’ve Got the Love, which was originally recorded by The Source and Candi Staton – and later covered by Florence and the Machine – and Dirtee Cash, which was originally performed by Dizzee Rascal.

After Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed their song Empire State of Mind, Cheryl Cole performed her track, Fight For This Love, although the performance featured excerpts from Show Me Love, a track that was originally recorded by Robin S.

Lady Gaga won all three awards that she was nominated for, including “International female solo artist”, “International breakthrough act” and “International album”, the latter being for The Fame. In one of her acceptance speeches, she said: “Thank you, thank you so so much. I love my fans. Thank you. My fans in the UK, thank you.”

When accepting the award for “British male solo artist”, rapper Dizzee Rascal stated: “It’s about time as well.” Music group JLS were nominated for three awards and won two of them – “British breakthrough act” and “British single”. Group member Oritsé Williams stated in the acceptance speech: “We never ever thought this would happen, you’ve made our dreams come true.” Kasabian was given the award for “British group”. Lily Allen, who was wearing an orange wig during the award ceremony, received the award for “British female solo artist”. In her acceptance speech, she declared: “Oh my god. I only wore this orange wig ’cause I though it’d make it harder for them to find me, the cameramen, and catch my disappointed face.”

British group Florence and the Machine won the “Mastercard British album” award for the album Lungs. Florence Welch of the group accepted the award, stating: “Thanks so much for having me back. Cheers! […] There are so many people that help me make this album and so many people who supported it, people like you.” The award for “BRITs performance of 30 years” went to former group the Spice Girls for their performance of Wannabe/Who Do You Think You Are. The award for “International male solo artist” went to rapper Jay-Z.

Former British group Oasis were awarded with the honour of “BRITs album of 30 years”, for their album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. Former group comrade Liam Gallagher came onto the stage to accept the award and told the viewers: “Listen kids. I wanna thank Bonehead, Quiggs, Alan White… the best fucking fans in the world. Live forever.” He then threw his microphone and the trophy into the crowd and walked off the stage. Presenter Peter Kay then came on and said about Gallagher: “What a knobhead.”

At one point during the programme, a pre-recorded video with Prince Harry of Wales in it was shown. In the video, Prince Harry said: “You’ll be pleased to know that I’m not gonna sing, but only because I don’t want to show up the next act. The BRITs is a celebration of all that is totally outstanding and unique about British music. But what’s less well known about the BRITs is the fantastic work it does raising millions of pounds for the BRIT trust which has benefited thousands of young people to develop their talents and generally enrich our society. Well done on all you’ve achieved. I hope you have a fantastic evening.”

The “Critic’s choice” award was given to British music artist Ellie Goulding. The “Outstanding contribution award” was won by British musician Robbie Williams, who performed a medley of thirteen of his songs at the end of the programme – Let Me Entertain You, Supreme, Millennium, Feel, Everything Changes (originally performed by Take That, the group that Williams was formerly a member of), Angels, No Regrets, Bodies, Come Undone, Morning Sun, Rock DJ and Rudebox.

Below is a complete list of the recipients of the awards on Tuesday night. Please note that the awards list is not in order of when they were given out.

• British male solo artist – Dizzee Rascal
• British female solo artist – Lily Allen
• British breakthrough act – JLS
• British group – Kasabian
• Mastercard British album – Florence and the Machine – Lungs
• British single – JLS – Beat Again
• BRITs performance of 30 years – Spice Girls – Who Do You Think You Are
• International male solo artist – Jay-Z
• International female solo artist – Lady Gaga
• International breakthrough act – Lady Gaga
• International album – Lady Gaga – The Fame
• BRITs album of 30 years – Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
• Critic’s choice – Ellie Goulding
• Outstanding contribution award – Robbie Williams

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina —This weekend is the kick-off for two motorcycle rallies held annually in the U.S. eastern seacoast town of Myrtle Beach. Enthusiasts this year are expected to meet or exceed the 170,000 bikers that arrived last year in droves to the small resort town of 23,000. Festivities span two weeks, and extend again this year into the Memorial Day.

Leading off is the week-long Harley rally, followed by the next week’s BikeFest. In and around town, both day and night are punctured by the sounds of bike engines gunned and revved at stop lights and in parking lots. Groups of cycle riders dominate the streets.

“By Friday night, the front parking lot will be a full line of motorcycles to the corner.” said motel owner Ranjan Patel. The Super 8 motel takes up half a block at its location in the heart of the downtown motel strip. “Both sides [of Ocean Blvd] are nothing but bikes.” Both she and her co-owner husband agree, the influx of bikers dwarf in size the numbers of tourists who visit during regular summer months for ocean-side and family amusement park attractions.

The highly accesorised bikes, decked with chrome and polished to show it, flashed the townscape. Choppers made a showing, but road hogs dominated the ridership, often going twosome. Many rally goers arrived on the scene with SUV’s or big pickup trucks towing cargo trailers loaded with cycles.

Growth in the sheer size of the two rallies led police to make changes in the handling of traffic flow. During BikeFest last year, the mostly black crowd that came in on the heels of the largely white Harley rally the week earlier, were faced with confusion when the two-lane Ocean Blvd was made one-way.

A branch of the NAACP in Conway, the next town over from Myrtle Beach, alleged discrimination by Horry County and Myrtle Beach Police. They claimed authorities and police used an overwhelming and aggressive police presence, combined with a restrictive one-way traffic pattern, to intimidate and discourage the participants in the rally.

An injunction was issued earlier this week by U.S. District Judge Terry Wooten, who ruled that bikers at both rallies be treated the same. Myrtle Beach city lawyers immediately filed an appeal to the ruling at the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying “the trial court erroneously determined that the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits; that is, that the city of Myrtle Beach intentionally treats Memorial Day weekend tourists differently from others similarly situated because of their race.”

A plan to submit an opposition to the notice has already been announced by Michael Navarre, an attorney for Steptoe & Johnson, who represents the NAACP civil rights group. “We certainly don’t think the judge has ruled erroneously,” Navarre said, according to The Sun News.

Traffic control and safety measures were in full swing Friday morning on US-17. Both directions of the 4-lane divided highway south of Myrtle Beach had traffic cones and parking barriers set up to control traffic. Large flashing road signs on each side of the highway warned cars to use the passing lane. The warning sign flashed a message that the right lane was for motorcycle use only. Police monitored the pull-offs near a Harley dealer’s lot where popular attractions were set-up in the immediate vicinity.